Chinese Lesson _ Go on a diet
In China nowadays, slimming has become a fashion, an inevitable topic for young people, especially for young girls. To get a slim body, many of them are even willing to suffer starvation. Now, let's come into their craze and try to get what they are saying.
 
袁媛：饿死我了！
Yuan Yuan: I'm terribly hungry！
萧潇：怎么啦！袁媛？
Xiao Xiao: Yuan Yuan, what's wrong with you？
袁媛：我一天没吃东西了。
Yuan Yuan: I haven't had a bit to eat all day.
萧潇：你这是干吗啊？
Xiao Xiao: Why?
袁媛：减肥啊！
Yuan Yuan: I'm going on a diet.
萧潇：减什么，你一点儿也不胖！再说，胖点儿没什么大不了的。
Xiao Xiao: It was really unnecessary to do so, as you are not fat. Besides, slight fatness is not that serious.
袁媛：你身材那么好，当然不担心啦。
Yuan Yuan: You are so slender and of course needn't worry about your figure.
萧潇：我？我才不管那么多呢！我­要享受­生活，­看着那­么多美­食不能­吃，那­可太郁­闷了。­
Xiao Xiao: I just do not care so much. I'd like to enjoy the life. It's really distressed thing to stay away from so many fine foods in sight.
袁媛：要是我像你这样，想吃什么就吃什么，男朋友会说我的！
Yuan Yuan: If I do eat whatever I want like you, my boyfriend will definitely blame me.
萧潇：哎呀，别太在意那些话，左耳进右耳出就行了。
Xiao Xiao: Well, don't take his words too hard. Just let it go in one ear and out the other.
袁媛：不行，我可不能对自己不负责任。
Yuan Yuan: Oh, no. I should be responsible for myself.
萧潇：每天饿肚子才是对自己不负责任呢！
Xiao Xiao: It's only irresponsible of you to starve yourself.
袁媛：唉！真没有共同语言！
Yuan Yuan: Well, we are not on the same wavelength.
萧潇：唉！随你的便吧。
Xiao Xiao: Have it your way!

Did you understand it? As there are so many idiomatic expressions in it, let's appreciate them one by one.
 ① 饿死了
Does "死了" mean "dead" here? "饿死了" can of course mean really "die of hunger" and "die of exhaustion". However, in everyday life, like the English word deadly, it usually mean "very, terribly". So, "饿死了"means "extremely hungry" here.
Similarly, "累死了" usually does not mean "die from exhaustion", rather it expresses one's physical exhaustion in an exaggerated manner, meaning the same as "very tired". The use of the word "死" simply serves to add vividness to one's expression. So an adjective denoting one's feelings, when modified by the words "死了", can express such emotion to the maximum.
 ② 干吗啊
In colloquial Chinese we often say "干吗啊" to express "why" or "for what". When you don't understand why somebody has done something, you can use this expression.
 ③ 没什么大不了的
Here it means "it doesn't matter, it is not that serious, and it won't lead to a bad result". When your friend is worried about something, you can say, "别担心，没什么大不了的", "Well, don't worry. It is not that serious."
 ④ 郁闷
It means "Depressed, distressed". When you run into trouble or come across something bad and you feel you can do nothing to alter the situation, you can use this expression to describe your feelings. For example, having been window-shopping all afternoon, you end up finding nothing you like. At this time you will say to yourself, "真郁闷".
 ⑤ 随你的便吧
When you have done all you can to persuade your friend and yet he still won't listen to you, you may become exasperated and want to leave him alone. At this time the sentence that best expresses your anger and resignation is "随你的便", similar with "none of my business or have it your way".
★ Idiom------左耳进右耳出   (to go in One Ear and out the Other, not to take one's advice)
例：我告诉了你多少次上班要准时­？可是­，你对­我的话­老是左­耳进右­耳出。­现在，­我只好­解雇你­了。
E.g. How many times have I told you to get to work on time? But my words just go in one ear and out the other. So I don't have any choice but to fire you."
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"Tongue twister" is a distinctive language art form. It refers to an expression that is difficult to articulate clearly, as is composed by words of similar pronunciations but different meanings.
For example, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper" is such an English tongue twister.
However, in Chinese, it is the additional four tones – high ,level, rising, falling-rising and falling, of which all Chinese words have one as its value, that also help to make up a tongue twister.
A typical example for beginners is "ma". It can mean very differently depending on the tone: "mother" (妈mā), "hemp"(麻má) "horse"(马mǎ), "scold"(骂mà).Thus, a nice little tongue twister of those with an interest in Chinese tones is: "妈妈骑马,马慢,妈妈骂马", which means "mother rides a horse; the horse is slow; mother scolds the horse".
There are more resources for you as follows:
四和十：
        四是四,十是十，十四是­十四，­四十是­四十，­谁能分­得清,­请来试­一试。­
The Number Four and Ten:
"Four" sounds four; "ten" sounds ten; "fourteen" sounds fourteen; "forty" sounds forty. Who can make clear the distinctions? Come and have a try.
You can have a nice practice in this tongue twister in telling the retroflex consonant from the rough consonant.
化肥：
        黑化肥发灰，灰化肥­发黑。­黑化肥­发灰不­发黑，­灰化肥­发黑不­发灰。­
Fertilizer:
Blake fertilizer turns grey; grey fertilizer turns black. Black fertilizer turns grey but not black; grey fertilizer turns black but not grey.

You can have a nice practice in this tongue twister in telling the consonant "h" from "f".
Anyway, it is good way of practicing your Chinese pronunciation and tones through those interesting tongue twisters.

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Chinese Lesson__Chinese culture points

The Chinese etiquette for the receipt of guests
You will receive a warm welcome during your visit to a Chinese family. You are likely to be treated to tea, sweets, fruits or refreshments. Just feel free to enjoy everything, for the sincerity and hospitality of the host should make you feel at home. Perhaps you think the entertainment is rich, but the host would insist that they don’t have much to serve, that you just have a taste of whatever you like. This modest attitude should not be taken that their receipt of the guests is below par. Before departure, inviting you to come again is often expressed as a friendly gesture for which the arrangement of a date may not be seriously made。

Handshaking
Customarily Chinese friends, colleagues and acquaintances shake hands with one another when they first meet or reunite after lone years of separation. Handshaking between men and women may be symbolically brief, but the initiative can be taken by either side although male eagerness often prevails.

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